1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container mold exchanging apparatus for exchanging a tread mold which is used to mold a tire and is mounted on a container.
2. Description of the Related Art
For some time, as molds used in a tire vulcanizing device for molding a tire by vulcanizing, various structures of molds have been known. As an example, there is known a structure in which a container of a vulcanizing device is provided with a mold including upper and lower sidewall molds used for molding both sidewalls of a tire with the tire interposed therebetween in the vertical direction and a plurality of tread molds arranged on the outer periphery of the tire so as to mold a tread of the tire. The container of the vulcanizing device is substantially formed in a cylindrical shape and includes a top plate which is formed in a disk shape so as to form the upper surface of the cylindrical container and to which an upper sidewall mold is fixed, a lower plate which is formed in a disk shape so as to form the lower surface of the cylindrical container and to which a lower sidewall mold is fixed, a jacket which is substantially formed in a cylindrical shape so as to form the side surface of the cylindrical container, and a plurality of segments which are arranged in the inside of the jacket so as to respectively correspond to the plurality of tread molds. In addition, the plural segments are arranged in the inside of the jacket and are substantially formed in a cylindrical shape. The outer diameter of the cylindrical shape formed by the plurality of segments gradually increases downward along the axis of the container. In addition, the inner diameter of the jacket gradually increases downward along the axis of the container.
When molding the tire, first, a green tire is disposed between the upper and lower sidewall molds. Then, when the jacket disposed on the outside of the segments moves down along the axis of the container, the segments and the tread molds move inward in the radial direction. Accordingly, the upper and lower sidewall molds and the tread molds are integrated with each other. In this state, the inside of the tire is pressurized and heated at a vulcanizing temperature, thereby molding the tire.
In this kind of mold, for example, a technology has been disclosed in which a mold of a container of a vulcanizing device is efficiently and reliably exchanged when the mold is required to be exchanged in accordance with the type of the tire (for example, see Japanese Patent No. 3814163).
In many cases, in the container separated from the vulcanizing device, the tread mold exchanging operation is manually performed.
FIG. 6 is diagrams illustrating a known sequence of separating the tread molds from the container.
First, when a wire C2 suspended on a lifting bolt C3 mounted on a jacket 117 of a container 100 separated from the vulcanizing device is lifted up by a hoist C1, a lower sidewall mold 118 and a lower plate 119 are separated from the container 100. (A) of FIG. 6 shows the lower sidewall mold 118 and the lower plate 119 which are separated from the container 100.
Next, as shown in (B) of FIG. 6, the container 100, which is suspended on the hoist C1 and from which the lower sidewall mold 118 and the lower plate 119 are separated, is placed on a base Y1. Then, an attachment bolt 112A used for attaching a sidewall mold 113 to a top plate 112 is loosened so as to separate the upper sidewall mold 113 from the top plate 112.
In addition, as shown in (B) of FIG. 6, the outer diameter of the cylindrical shape formed by a plurality of segments 115 gradually increases downward along the axis of the container 100, and the inner diameter of the jacket 117 gradually increases downward along the axis thereof. In this way, the outer diameter formed by the segments 115 and the inner diameter of the jacket 117 are formed to conform each other, and a guide 116 is disposed therebetween.
Subsequently, as shown in (C) of FIG. 6, the container 100 from which the upper sidewall mold 113 is separated is placed on another base Y2. In addition, an operator directly enters the inside of a tread mold 114 and loosens an attachment bolt 114A while supporting the tread mold 114 so as to separate the tread mold 114 from the segments 115.
As described above, in the tread mold exchanging operation in the container separated from the vulcanizing device, several operators are required for the operation, and it is difficult for the operators to support the heavy tread molds in a hot environment.
In order to solve such a difficulty in a hot environment, the tread mold exchanging operation may be performed after the tread molds are cooled to a normal temperature. However, in order to efficiently perform the tread mold exchanging operation in consideration of the cooling time, many containers have to be prepared, which causes problems such as the cost for the investment in the facility increases, a large amount of space is required for disposing the container to be cooled, and the working efficiency deteriorates. In addition, in the case of mounting the container to the vulcanizing device, it is necessary to increase the temperature of the cooled container again.
For this reason, there has been a demand for a technology for easily and efficiently performing the tread mold exchanging operation in the container.
The present invention is contrived in consideration of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a container mold exchanging apparatus capable of easily and efficiently performing an exchange operation (a mounting operation and a separating operation) of a tread mold of a container separated from a vulcanizing device, reducing a load in the exchange operation, and improving safety in the exchange operation.